“During the seven-year preparations /for the Olympics/ I’ve been several times to Sochi,” Ivanov said in an interview with the Russia Today TV news channel on Sunday. “I visited mainly the coastal cluster then. Everything is ready now and I believe this cluster to become one of the most compact and most comfortable for the spectators.”

“I was at the mountainous cluster in Krasnaya Polyana quite a long time ago. I went to ski there myself and it was a village just like most Russian villages,” Ivanov said. “Yesterday, when I arrived, I just did not recognise the place. I felt like I was in Switzerland or in Austria - somewhere in Central Europe, in the Alps. Everything was amazing.”

Ivanov said that he “had talks with lots of foreign statesmen, athletes, experts and all of them were unanimous in telling me that the mountainous cluster is OK and that it is one of the best places they’ve ever seen.”

Speaking about security, Ivanov said that “the best system of security is when you don’t notice it. And in Sochi, it seems to me, we can point out the approach of this type.”

“On the one hand, very serious measures have been taken and, on the other hand, you notice nothing at all,” he said. “It means real professionals are doing their work.”

Focusing on the future for the newest infrastructure in Sochi, Ivanov said: “It is more or less clear what will be done with the mountainous cluster as it is to become a world-class winter resort for skiing and sunbathing. In the summer the tourists will come to the mountains for walking and breathing fresh air.”

“Meanwhile, the coastal cluster is much more problematic,” he said. “In the autumn, one of the Formula-1 races /Russian Grand Prix race - eds. Tass/ is expected to take place there. And the ice palace /Iceberg Skating Palace - eds. Tass/ will hold ice gala shows, concerts and similar events.”

“We are still considering how to use other sports facilities,” he said. “The president has ordered the experts to work out and offer several options of the efficient exploitation of these facilities after the Olympic Games,” Ivanov said.